Dogman Star - Suede - One Mick Jones

Dogman Star - Suede

Under-the-ground

Where do I start. In my opinion the best album ever made.
I was introduced to this album by my friend 2weeks after it was released by my friend of 30years. My life was starting a nowhere town Chelmsford but a friend for life through university. A long distance relationship with my current partner. Two children later who are now becoming adults.
This sets the personal scene. Let’s go:-

Introducing the band. Starts with a throbbing bass. Mentions winterland and the pistols last stand. Ever get the feeling you have been cheated?

We are the pigs
Apocalypse guitar. We are the swine.

Heroine
My Marilyn comes to my slum . Not about smack about unrequited love.

The wild ones
Suburban frustration writ large. Where the debt grows each day

Daddy’s speeding
Brett writing about James Dean. The live version is the one you want

The power
A smash and grab of Bowie. Is there any other song about going nowhere. I love this

New Generation
The flip of weekender. Just listen.

This Hollywood life.
Off your face .please help . The guitar is brutal

The 2 of us
Lying in my bed I think of you. Small town nowhere. This song is everything to me

Black or blue
The weakest song on the album. But when they came back the Uk tonight line felt there is no other place

The asphalt world
Get this. A massive serpent of a riff sung by a man who knows his current situation is over. Then stick his apprentice and in the mix . Pure poison. I love it . This fucks all over Brit pop, by the main architects. Hear the live version with Richard,

Still life
A Noel coward book. This is like ocean rain land locked into southern England. I will be buried to this.

To conclude. I saw this on their comeback with the same friend. I fell in love when this was released and grew up.

You have the backstory of this record with Bernard butler & stuff. But a school boy took this on & made it his with a dollop of what’s the problem from Brett.

You could write a novel of this record just about the singer. Living below a Mennonite sect & all that. It is a record I have lived in, been to & live by.

I give you Dogman Star
Essential 10/10

YoungParisian_inExile

Under-the-ground Got it on now. Chelmsford …. do you know any of the older Arsenal mob who live there ?

Under-the-ground

YoungParisian_inExile I was at poly there . No thankfully

Djpekingman

I remember the hype around this lot was painful. Rows between Brett and Bernard, crass soundbites such ’I’m a gay man who’s never had a gay experience’ and shit like that. I bought it on CD when it came out, NME flung a free flexi (still got mine) containing the best bits to further fire the hype. I bet I’ve not played either for 25 years. I still haven’t but I can’t shake that fucking earworm that is Animal Nitrate (which is not on this album), with the Anderson howl. I will try to listen to it, but I can’t promise positivity.

Anchor

Djpekingman I like that song of theirs - positivity.

Loose_Lips

I have 100 albums saved in my Spotify that I love.

This is in it.

Butler is up there with Marr as a British song writer who could fucking wreak havoc on the fretboard. You can spot his playing a mile off. It’s really raw.

Rare.

Vox amp, Gibson 355 and a fuzz.

The songs are superb. Most albums I like were created under friction. Did he want to produce it and they got someone in that started it all off? Butler was the straight, no nonsense music obsessive. The others liked to party I think. Butler’s dad died whilst recording and he wrote Stay Together. It was added to the reissue and is probably their best song for me.

I think the producer who came in at the very end once they dumped his gear on the street had to finish some parts.

No second album syndrome here, though.

9/10.

Big sound, loads of width, anti-Britpop.

Essential.

Plus Richard Oakes entered stage left at the end. I reckon he’s close to up there in the British guitarist mould I mentioned at the start.

Under-the-ground

Loose_Lips I think Richard Oakes made it his own. The playing on the live one is full of anger & frustration. Feels like the strings are going to snap. The feedback as well. Lovely

Loose_Lips

Nice one @Under-the-ground

white_dragon

Never listened to a suede album. Looking forward to trying this later.

Anchor

Can I clarify - Butler started this then that young lad they found finished it?

YoungParisian_inExile

“She’s in Fashion” would be in a list of top tracks …. but aside from that I can’t get my head around them. I’ve tried, listened to most of their stuff, played it again this morning, seen them live ( early doors at the Falcon in 90) but Brett Anderson’s whining is too much. Great look, style … but his voice kills me.

Butler did those couple of tracks with McAlmont which in my humble blew anything by Suede away.

UTG … thanks for posting but non essential for me.

90Piesanhour

Find myself, mainly, in agreement with YPinE, although NONE of their tracks are in my top 100. Loved Bernard Bulter with McAlmont, some genius work there, but Brett Anderson’s voice, whiney and Marge Simpsonesque, is an instant turn off. I can safely say I have never liked their work, and still don’t. 0/100, maybe 1/100 for Bernard Butler teaming up with McAlmont, later, and redeeming himself somewhat.

Travis_Bickle

Suede are one of those bands that I didn’t take to at first, but have grown to love in many ways. I don’t really know why it took some time, but this album might explain it. For me it shows the first signs of how good they could go on to be. And, at the risk of sounding contrary, I think they got better after Butler left.
We Are The Pigs and Daddy’s Speeding are probably my standouts on here.. Anderson sang Daddy’s Speeding on his own when they played the O2 back in 2019 and you could hear a pin drop.
Coming Up is still one of my favourite albums and, occupies a pretty unique position as it’s one both me and the Mrs love. Old man was a big fan of it too after I played him it so it always raises a smile.
I think The Blue Hour is masterpiece. There’s been a lot of filler over their catalogue but when they get it right, they’re brilliant. I’ve learnt to love his voice and that’s a long way from when I’d just tolerate it.
The Sky Arts documentary on them is brilliant and worth a watch even if you’re not a huge fan.
Not essential but a creditable 6/10.

Sardine-Tree

Not sure what constitutes ‘essential’, it’d have to be 10/10 for me. This maybe 8.5/10 but great album. No second ‘difficult album’, here, to me, their best. Saw them promoting this in Bradford St George’s with a hippie/indie girl who was obsessed with Suede, Smiths and Cocteau Twins. Yeah, kind of anti-Britpop.

Jon

Sardine-Tree a hippie/indie girl who was obsessed with Suede, Smiths and Cocteau Twins.

I like her. You didn’t meet many of those in Rocky’s.

Sardine-Tree

Jon
Yeah, a Brighouse girl, not a Brit-House girl!!

Loose_Lips

I’m surprised by the reaction on this one.

I get most on here have a mid-80’s leaning in many ways but this was a big album.

Foxy_Dread

I’ve had a listen but I think I need the headphones on for this one.

Harvest

As a weekly devourer of NME I remember Suede from the start. The paper adored them - I think they called them the best band in the world when the first album came out. Justine Frishchman from Elastica was in the band for a while I believe.

I remember Morrissey covering one of their tracks or playing it live or something. There was an interview with Anderson and Bowie together and rumours of heroin addiction surfaced. The fallout with Bernard Butler seemed to go on for ages and got pretty nasty.

I thought the first album was great, still do. Went out with a girl for a few years who adored Suede. We saw them at York Barbican in the mid 90d and I think I also saw them at Glastonbury one year. They got lumped in with Britpop whatever that was. I don’t think that even existed. Just a music press invention to increase sales.

I haven’t listened to this for a long time but I’ll bang it on soon and slip my skinny fit shirt on.

Djpekingman

Harvest Founder member apparently. And shagging him. Must be before he became a gay. Or why. Seems like she was general Britpop Bait as she then moved on to Damon Albarn.

Harvest

The last track is Still life if you’re listening on Spotify.